So, I’m sorry this post went up twice without being finished. That’s what happens when you schedule a blog that isn’t done yet, and then get too busy to finish it. Alas, here is this week’s five things in their actual form.
1. Netflix on XBOX 360 – The first two of this week’s five things require credit being given to Waldo, who blogged about each of them himself, in a single post no less, quite recently.
I’d been one of the seeming few who held out with Blockbuster Video’s online rental plan while it seemed most had jumped ship to Netflix. The ability to walk into a store to trade a mailer in while receiving an in-store rental plus another mailer was too good to pass up. Yet, now that I finally got my XBOX Live working (thanks in no part to the people of Microsoft’s customer service), Netflix has a new advantage for it in that I can watch HD movies. We don’t have a Bluray player, so the fact that on our 360 we can watch available films in HD is sweeeeet! It was enough to get us on board for a free two week trial.
It’s only been about a week, but I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
2. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters – Again, Waldo already blogged about this one. I finally saw it myself, and I’m glad I did. It’s a documentary, the story of a guy who can’t seem to catch a break in life, who tries to acheive the highest score on the classic Donkey Kong arcade game. The primary challenge is that a remarkably arrogant, unintentionally hilarious man name Billy Mitchell has held the record for two decades and is best friends with the organization who keeps track of these types of records.
A little bonus is that the hero of the film is from Redmond, WA, so it was like rooting for the hometown guy.
If you haven’t seen it, check it out!
3. Assassin’s Creed
My sister-in-law bought this game for me for Christmas, and let me tell you, it’s awesome!
When I was in second grade, our teacher asked our whole class what we wanted to be when we grew up. She made a list, then had us draw pictures of said profession and put them in the hallway for our parents to see when they came in for the school’s open house. When it came to my turn, I boldly declared that I wanted to be a Ninja when I grew up. So, in the midst of all the crayon drawings of doctors and firefighters, my parents had to look at future Scott, dressed all in black, with a bloody katana blade in each hand.
My dream was of silently slipping through the shadows and taking the lives of my enemies. Assassin’s Creed makes that dream come true.
Sure, I may have grown up to be a man who doesn’t believe in war, who rants and rails against the myth of redemptive violence to all who will listen. But, somewhere deep inside there is still an assassin my friends, and as Assassin’s Creed’s hero Alta’ir, that internal assassin moves across the rooftops of the Middle East during the crusades and kills with no discrimination.
It doesn’t hurt that the game is visually beautiful, especially in HD!
I highly encourage anyone in the area who is interested to come over and give it a try. Austin, Tim, Brent… you know you want to.
4. Where The Wild Things Are – Most of you probably remember this children’s book. By this point you may or may not know that Spike Jonze is directing a film based on the book. I wasn’t sure what to think, but I must confess, these recent promotional photos make me happy: (Please excuse the fairly lame skateboard theme of the promotion)
5. My New Scarf – My friend KJ makes scarves, and recently she made me one. I won a silent auction at the MHGS Christmas party for it. I’ll have a link coming soon to show you all, so there is more to come on this one.
gloaming and dawn 